Would anybody be interested in something like this

[seandisanti]

i'm supposed to be getting a new laptop via fed-ex in the next day or two, and i've been thinking... even with the lock i bought for it (aircraft grade steel & kevlar) it seems like it could very easily get stolen one way or another. i think i'm going to make a tiny little program that checks what network it's on, and if the network isn't in an encrypted list of acceptable networks, it will silently send message to my cell phone telling me the ip, and load up vnc maybe etc etc. so that in the event that it's stolen, it will appear to be operating normally but will really be helping me catch the one that stole it... i think this is a better alternative than making them reinstall the OS from cd and letting them keep it...would anybody else be interested in code for this once i do it?

[layer]

That sounds like US government technology

[killaz219]

Sounds good, but if I stole a pc I'd probably just format it anyways and sell it as a new pc on ebay.

[AutoChris]

If you really want to secure your new laptop, you should not depend on an AutoIt script to tell you where your laptop is located. As killaz219 pointed out, it is much easier to just format the computer and reinstall what you want on it.

However, there is a program out there that will still function even if the laptop has been formatted. Take a look at CompuTrace at the CompuTrace website. This may be more of what you are looking for. However, it is much more expensive than writing a short script with a free language.

[TygerBlueEyes]

You can try this company also:

www.lexent.com

[herewasplato]

...and then there is this guy's laptop:

http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/08/01/missing.p...r.ap/index.html

[flyingboz]

However, there is a program out there that will still function even if the laptop has been formatted. Take a look at CompuTrace at the CompuTrace website.

Didn't notice anything on their site that would indicate that they woudl survive a format, in fact their recovery guarantee document seems to state just the opposite. If you have a link that describes how they would survive a drive swap or reformat, I'd like to see it.

The anti-theft portion appears to be driven purely by marketing and grabbing the stupid crooks, (not to say that there aren't a lot of those .

If the drive is reformatted in its totality (including partition table data and boot record) it will be impossible for any software component to survive. From their white paper, they indicate that they have a software agent you must install and ensure is phoning home properly.

You would have to have some permanent memory storage (firmware/hardware) w/ a network stack capable of driving whatever NIC is in place to provide a 'phone home' strategy. Of course, an externally driven function could hit a transponder for a one-way tracking device. This would, however, have to be embedded in the device to be stolen.

You can't initiate a phone home w/o both power and a communications stack of some sort, so any thief can simply take the batteries out until the item can be put in a Faraday cage. Satellite tracking via GPS or other methodology is possible, of course there are limitations there, as well.

Funny to think of thieves waiting for a major thunderstorm w/ a Faraday cage in the car - grab the laptop, rip out the batteries, drop it in a Faraday cage,

Take the batteries out, don't turn it on until you're in a faraday cage or tempest caliber environment, and all non-hardware "protections" are null and void.

EDIT: Please note, I am NOT advocating theft or dishonesty of any kind. I just get irked at companies charging lots of money for solutions that only stop the incompetent or unthinking.

Edited August 3, 2005 by flyingboz

[anixon]

You can try this company also:

www.lexent.com

I have also seen software that works with a bluetooth enabled mobile phone. If the computer equipped with a bluetooth can see the mobile phone it will operate if it cannot see the phone then it wont operate. Notwithstanding this is not the perfect solution it might slow down the opportunistic thief. Ant

[anixon]

i'm supposed to be getting a new laptop via fed-ex in the next day or two, and i've been thinking... even with the lock i bought for it (aircraft grade steel & kevlar) it seems like it could very easily get stolen one way or another. i think i'm going to make a tiny little program that checks what network it's on, and if the network isn't in an encrypted list of acceptable networks, it will silently send message to my cell phone telling me the ip, and load up vnc maybe etc etc. so that in the event that it's stolen, it will appear to be operating normally but will really be helping me catch the one that stole it... i think this is a better alternative than making them reinstall the OS from cd and letting them keep it...would anybody else be interested in code for this once i do it?

I like your idea. If you have a device with GPS embedded then it would be a simple process to extract the location co-ordinates of the device when it was cold or warm booted and provided that it has Network connectivity you could have the system write the GPS co-ordinates to a networked computer. It is then very easy to translate the address of the device and track it using Google Earth. A consideration is where the user has a dynamic rather than static IP address (not sure that is really a problem)

In the antipodes where I live if you are not the all powerful genie it is very difficult to get an IP translated into a physical address. Together with the GPS data you could also incorporate the IP address into the reporting. If your computer also had an inbuilt camera as some do these days you could probably even take a photograph.

Commented elsewhere in this forum you can also have software look for your bluetooth enabled mobile phone and run where it exists no need for any other device to be purchased. The program is called LockItNow and can be downloaded from http://www.blueshareware.com/. It comes at a cost but I am sure that someone out there in AutoIT land is clever enough to be able to write a script that will do the same thing.

Locks, chains, keys, dongles, security camera's motion detectors, pressure pads, safes are all options and my guess is that no system will stop the computer literate professional thief but in all likelyhood in the majority of cases the theft is simply opportunistic.

Anyway its a project I have an interest in. Ant

Edited November 27, 2006 by anixon

[AzKay]

Well heres what I would do.

I would make a script, That everytime the mouse button is clicked, it takes a snapshot (if the laptop has a built-in webcam) And send it through the internet, or wait until its connected to the internet, then send it to my email.

Pretty Snazzy eh? Except, The only flaw is, they might format it with a bootdisk, before windows starts up, or some other reason.

[spacemonkey]

Your only other recourse would be like a hidden partition, sorta like what Compaq used to configure the BIOS. You could only hope that the thief wasn't smart enough to look for this. If you have a savvy enough thief though, it really isn't going to matter what you do, he'll get around it.

*IF* I were to steal a laptop, I would just boot off of a CD or thumbdrive anyway, bypassing any software on the laptop.

[anixon]

Your only other recourse would be like a hidden partition, sorta like what Compaq used to configure the BIOS. You could only hope that the thief wasn't smart enough to look for this. If you have a savvy enough thief though, it really isn't going to matter what you do, he'll get around it.

*IF* I were to steal a laptop, I would just boot off of a CD or thumbdrive anyway, bypassing any software on the laptop.

Perhaps a Mission Impossible styled self destructing computer is the ultimate revenge a script that increases the V's on the motherboard? Cheers Ant

[Lakes]

I think Sony already did this...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WeWq6rWzChw&eurl=

[anixon]

I think Sony already did this...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WeWq6rWzChw&eurl=

Whoops I forgot about that Ant

[evilelf]

Try this dont take your Lap Top to places that are not safe.

I dont know maybe If auto it Some how Locks your Pc and sends a E-mail to your Phone then u can unlock it by e-mailling it back, and all that GPS locating thing.